Columbia Ballet School

Find the perfect class for your child and a place where they can learn and be welcomed. Email or call and we can help 💃✨

Interested in joining our adult community? Here is a helpful guide! Register on our website or email us for help ✨

We can’t wait to see you this Saturday! ❄️ 132 Gills Creek Parkway

Kinda Chic to be a dancer 🩰

✨ We are thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as Best Dance School in Columbia! 💗
Thank you to our incredible friends, families, and the amazing CBS community for voting for us. We are beyond thankful for the love and support you continue to show our school.
We are so proud to be part of this dance community and so grateful to everyone who makes Columbia Ballet School so special! ✨

We can’t wait to have you join us! 🩰

Please help us give a warm welcome to our new incredible teaching staff for the 2026–2027 season, including a huge welcome back to Nicole for her 11th year with Columbia Ballet School!
Nicole Millwood
A Columbia, South Carolina native, Nicole is a Principal Dancer with South Carolina Ballet. She trained at Columbia Conservatory of Dance, Houston Ballet, and Columbia Classical Ballet, and was a member of Tulsa Ballet II. She has also attended summer intensives with Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Houston Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive on a YAGP scholarship.

Nicole is dedicated to artistry, continual growth, and storytelling through movement, bringing both technical excellence and expressive depth to every class and performance. We are so excited to welcome her back for her 11th season, where she will continue inspiring our intermediate and advanced dancers.

Dylan Van D**e
Originally from Covington, Georgia, Dylan Van D**e began her training under Jaime Robertson before continuing at Atlanta Ballet. Now entering her 11th season with South Carolina Ballet, she has spent the last decade performing an extensive repertoire under the direction of William Starrett while collaborating with numerous guest choreographers. Recently promoted to Demi-Soloist, Dylan continues to be a standout performer with the company.

We are thrilled to have Dylan working with our intermediate and advanced dancers, sharing her wealth of professional experience and passion for ballet.

Charles Edward Connolly
Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Charles Connolly began dancing at the age of eight and trained under Radenko Pavlovich before earning a full scholarship to the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in New York City.

Charles enjoyed seven professional contracts in Japan, performing as a dancer, Pas de Deux specialist, singer, and Dance Captain for Tokyo Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Japan. His career also includes choreography and performances with Celebrity Cruise Lines and teaching at the world-renowned Millennium Dance Complex.

Charles is passionate about helping dancers grow both technically and artistically while fostering a positive and encouraging environment. He joins us as our Studio Choreographer and is excited to build a safe, welcoming community for our adult jazz dancers while sharing his love of movement with our students.

Bonnie Spafford
Born in Aiken, South Carolina, Bonnie Spafford began her ballet training at the age of 12 under Terry Ellen Shields at the Classical Ballet Centre in Summerville, SC. She continued her training at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, studying under Stanislav Issaev in the summer program before being accepted into the school’s year-round residential high school program, where she trained under Josee Garant. She also attended the University of South Carolina Summer Intensive under Susan Anderson, where she performed the First Shade Variation from La Bayadère.

At 17, Bonnie enlisted in the United States Air Force before returning to pursue her passion for dance. She is currently a dancer with Columbia Classical Ballet and is thrilled to share her love of ballet with our youngest students. Bonnie will be teaching our Level 1 dancers this season, and we are excited to have her as part of the Columbia Ballet School family!